The Secrets of Roan Island

22. Noah

22

Noah

T he party, the guests, the sounds, the smells, the blood, none of it means anything to me. I leave it behind, my mind and body singularly focused on one goal. Ruby. I don’t know if she really went to her rooms, but I have to hope she did, so I check there first.

I knock on her door. “Ruby?”

No answer.

A quick visit to the mirror and it’s clear she’s not in bed. A cold chill spikes my anxiety.

I return to the hallway, checking to ensure no one is there before sneaking from the hidden passageway. Her scent is in my blood, rushing through me with the surge of the moons’ tides. There’s a trace of it, but it’s old. She hasn’t been here since we went down to the party.

Fuck, where is she? The frustration grips my body, twisting my muscles into bulging knots. I need her.

I return to the party, even though I hope she’s too smart to be there. She’s not among the throng of bodies, mostly naked now. My father and brothers are feeding more openly now that everyone is well into their depravity. The scent of blood makes my mouth water. Hunger stirs in my gut, but the scents here aren’t what I want. Following my innate, most animalistic senses, I let the beast become my guide through the house. The slightest whiff of her perfume, the natural scent beneath it, takes me to the portrait hall. She was here, more recently than when we came up from the Gate House together.

I track her like a hound on the hunt. Down the stairs, flipping through the gateway as I go. Through hall after hall. Back to the library, where she seems most at home among the books. A safe haven, though she’s trapped herself in a dead end. There’s nowhere to go, and the carnality of that truth makes my cock swell.

She’s sitting at the table, hunched over a book, finger dragging across the page as she reads. I linger in the doorway, watching. Seeing her pushes the pace of my hearts. The hunger for her gnaws at my insides even after drinking from the human-trash of her ex.

She doesn’t hear me approach, too absorbed in her research. “There must be something here,” she whispers. Her heartbeat is fast, eager to find answers, but I don’t care about that right now. I only care about one thing. Her blood. Her body.

I inhale and close my eyes as they roll back in my head, relishing the uniqueness of what’s decidedly Ruby. Delicious. Delicate and strong at the same time. My fangs are long. My cock hard. Every muscle in my body is ready to pounce as I watch her.

She abruptly stops reading and looks to the spot where I kissed her the night before. Her breathing picks up, a hand pressing against her lips. Closing her eyes, she leans back in the chair, her other hand sliding down her neck to her luscious breast, where she stops and palms her ample flesh. She’s still in that red dress. Temptation wrapped in temptation.

“Noah,” she moans.

In an instant, I’m leaning over her chair from behind. “I’m here, ta’ari .”

She yelps in surprise, lurching from her chair but gets caught between the table, the chair, and me. She twists, the gown tangling around her legs, so she’s at my mercy.

I grin, leaning over the chair.

She shudders, her eyes closing for a moment as if mentally trying to escape my trap. “Shouldn’t you be at the party?”

I lay my hands on her shoulders, run my palms down her bare arms to her gloves, then push the silky fabric down, baring the skin at her forearms. “Did you think I wouldn’t find you?” Pulling each glove from her hand, I wrap my fingers around her wrists like manacles. “Did you think I wouldn’t show you what kind of monster I am?”

She pants, her chest rising in quick bursts, her blood rushing like a continuous song.

I lick my lips as I press my palms against her collarbone, my thumbs meeting at the divot of her throat where that ruby sits against her skin like an invitation. “You shouldn’t be here, Ruby Rose.”

“I wanted to–”

Her words catch as I slide my hands down over the swell of her breasts, lingering with them in my palms.

“Find…” Breath ragged, she leans into my touch.

“Wanted what? Find what?” My voice is a low rumble of animal need, warning her what I will become. I step in front of the chair and press closer, my hands prowling down to her waist where I linger, leaning forward to press my nose into that space between her neck and her shoulder. I scrape my fangs along her skin and whisper in her ear, “Tell me.”

She tilts her head, looking at me with pure, pliant need.

I sit in the chair she just vacated and lift the hem of her skirt, sliding it up over her legs until I’m cupping that beautiful ass I’ve been dreaming about for weeks.

“Noah,” she whimpers. “Please.”

The beast in me begs to be let loose. “Do you understand what you’re asking?”

Her heart is an echo in my body. I swallow, waiting for her.

“Yes.” She nods, reaching down and taking my face in her hands, guiding me so our eyes meet “Bite me. Fuck me. Put me out of this misery, Noah. I need you.”

Permission given, I surge to my feet, grab the back of her neck, and sink my teeth into her pulse point.

She tastes like the brilliance of light and the essence of stars. Her blood effervesces on my tongue like bubbles of the perfect champagne that both strengthens my need and satiates my nature. It wasn’t what I expected. My hunger is insatiable, my hunter awake with the desire to conquer, to own, but I’m not lost to it. I’m lost to Ruby.

She gasps and clutches my shirt. “Please. Yes. What?” She moans, and I know the venom is pulsing through her blood, giving her more pleasure than she’s ever known.

I continue to feed, gulping Ruby’s blood and rolling my hips, my cock seeking release.

Wanting all of her, I grab the bodice of her dress, enjoying the gorgeous swell of her tits as I do. Careful not to hurt her, I release my claws and rend the delicate fabric. Buttons, sequins, beads pop and rain around us.

She leans back, a coy smile on her lips, inviting. Crazed, I lift her onto the table.

“The research!” she protests, so I pick her up again and swipe the books and papers to the floor before setting her back down, right where I want her.

With a claw, I shred her undergarments and finally—fucking, finally—reveal her beautiful, round breasts, heavy and heaving with her desire. The sight is so incredible, I forget, for a moment, about her blood, and bring all of my attention to her naked skin. Her nipples tighten at the intrusion of cold air, and I don’t hesitate to twist the pert buds between my thumb and forefinger. Sliding my hands down her sides, I scratch the inside of her thighs, rip her pantaloons open, and spread her legs wide so I can step between them, bringing our bodies flush.

When I bring my hands back to her perfect tits, her hips roll. “That feels…” She moans, unable to put into words what she feels.

I marvel at her enjoyment, reveling in how she responds to my touch. With a palm just below her collarbone, I push her back until she’s laying on the table, spread out like a fucking feast. “Mine,” I growl and lean over to take her nipple in my mouth.

Ruby gasps, her hips bucking. She squeezes her legs around my waist and digs in her heels, pulling me closer.

I need to taste her. All of her. I want to feast on her arousal, her blood, her very essence.

Wetting my lips, I make quick work of removing every shredded piece of clothing from her body, then lean back to admire her naked form. “So fucking beautiful.”

When I sit back down between her legs, intent locked on the sweet pinnacle between her thighs, she props herself up on her elbows and gives me a tentative, almost shy smile. It’s the most alluring thing I’ve ever seen.

“I don’t…” Her scent takes on a nervous quality. “I mean, are you sure? David never–”

I wipe his name from her lips with a feral growl. My gaze narrows on her face, on her swollen mouth, on my already healing bite marks on her neck. My cock thickens, my balls tightening. “I’m going to take you apart with my tongue, Ruby, then put you back together with my venom.”

She makes a small sound, the whimpering of prey.

My monster takes over, unable to hold back. I grab her thighs, yank her to the edge of the table, and bury my face between her legs.

On my tongue, Ruby is perfect. The natural essence of her excites me, calls to me, draws me to pleasure her with abandon. I want to give and give and give because I’m receiving everything I’ve ever wanted in return.

I told her I would take her apart and put her back together, but I failed to consider what this would do to me. I’m the one being destroyed and rebuilt.

She grips my hair like she’s afraid she’s going to fall and I’m the only one who can save her. I grip her thighs the same way, my claws biting into her skin. Every sense in my body is attuned to her. The subtle changes in her taste, her movements, her scent, her pulse, her sounds. I know the moment she’s about to climax and that’s when I strike, biting her upper thigh. Claws retracted, I replace my tongue with my fingers, slipping into her tight, wet heat with my thumb on her clit. She cries my name as I sink more venom into her. An eruption of pleasure for both of us.

The taste of her release blazes in her blood, filling me with so much hot pleasure as I drink that I climax right alongside her without being touched. I’ve never experienced anything like it before. This is a pleasure unknown, unexplored. I never knew it could be like this.

It’s more than euphoric. It’s a divine cataclysm.